MeerKratts
by deepfathom
Summary: The Wild Kratts gang is ecstatic to be spending some time in the Kalahari observing meerkats. But after a careless mistake on one brother's part, the other finds himself in a nasty situation.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Martin poked his head around the corner into the Tortuga's cockpit. His eyes darted left and right before he cautiously ventured one foot around as well.

"Don't even think about it," said Aviva without turning. She and Koki were standing by Jimmy as he piloted the ship to their next destination.

With a gasp, Martin disappeared. Five minutes later, however, he was back, and this time, Chris had tagged along as well.

"Are we there yet?" Chris asked hopefully.

"If you two don't skedaddle and stop asking questions," Koki said, "we'll lock you in your rooms."

Without another word, the brothers made themselves scarce…but only for a little while. To the tech crew's dismay, they were peeking around the corner again within fifteen minutes.

"_Now_ are we there?" Chris asked.

"Can you _please_ tell us where we're going now?" begged Martin, giving them the biggest puppy dog eyes he could manage. "We can't wait any longer!"

"Guys," scolded Aviva, although she couldn't hide an amused smile, "we already told you it's a surprise!"

Chris and Martin sighed dejectedly, about to leave…

"Ladies and gents," said Jimmy, easing the controls downward with a confident grin, "welcome to the Kalahari Desert. It's a balmy one hundred and five degrees out there today without a cloud in the sky. Please sit tight and await further instructions while I, your handsome captain, proceed to land the aircraft—"

"THE KALAHARI?!" both brothers blurted at the same time, practically beaming with excitement. Then they turned tail and bolted out of the cockpit, heading straight for the exit even though Jimmy hadn't even touched down yet.

"Wait!" Aviva shouted after them. "We haven't landed! And the doors are still in—"

*THUD!*

The sound of the pair running straight into the tightly sealed doors resounded through the ship.

"—flight mode."


	2. Welcome to the Kalahari

***A/N: I have been and am still doing a lot of research for this story (just to site a few sources: National Geographic, Wikipedia, and the Animal Planet show "Meerkat Manor"). Meerkats are some of my favorite wild animals so I'm trying to keep my facts accurate. If you come across anything that doesn't seem legit, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! I'm more than happy to make corrections, but it's up to you guys to tell me how I'm doing and if I miss something so I can.**

**Also, because of the research, it might take me a little longer to update. My goal is to end up with a story that is as close to a real episode as I can possibly get it, so please be patient with me. Thanks! ;)**

**Over n' out for now, -DF**

**Chapter 1**

**Welcome to the Kalahari**

After sharing a concerned glance, Aviva and Koki rushed into the main lab area of the Tortuga to find Chris and Martin sprawled flat on their backs.

Koki slapped her forehead. "Oh _brothers!_"

"Are you guys ok?" Aviva asked, leaning over for a closer look. They blinked up at her, stunned from the impact.

"Um…ow," answered Chris after a moment.

"I didn't know the doors were that hard," Martin said, sitting up and rubbing his nose.

"Uh…that's because you're usually supposed to wait for'em to open _before _you try running through'em," said Jimmy as he came into the room.

"Jimmy!" Chris rolled over and hopped to his feet. "Did you land? Can we go outside now?"

The two brothers each hunched down into a "starting position", ready to dart out the exit for their next adventure.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on!" Aviva waved both hands at the overly-eager siblings. "You don't even know what we're doing here yet."

"So tell us already!" Chris and Martin chorused.

Aviva turned. "Koki, if you will…"

Koki, who was already at her computer, tapped a button and an image of a small, tan animal appeared onscreen.

"Here you go!" she sang. "Surprise!"

"Meerkats," Martin gasped, eyes widening. "We're here to see meerkats! Wow, this is great!"

"Awesome!" Chris said. "Thanks guys! Can we go now?"

"Wait a second," said Jimmy, raising an eyebrow at the screen, "that doesn't look like a cat to me."

"That's because it's not." Chris corrected. "Meerkats are part of the mongoose family."

"So they're not cats, they're…geese?"

Chris laughed. "No! A mongoose is a small animal that looks a little bit like a weasel."

"I've always loved how incredibly cute meerkats are!" Aviva said.

"Oh, you think the adults are cute, check out the pups!"

Koki tapped the keyboard and another picture appeared beside the first one.

"Awwww!" the three crew members cooed altogether at the sight of the big-eyed fuzzballs in the image. Meanwhile, while they were otherwise occupied, Chris and Martin nodded to each other and backed toward the exit.

"Ok," said Jimmy, "I'm officially a fan."

"You should be!" said Aviva. "They're incredible little creatures. Somehow, they've been able to thrive out here in the desert. Personally, I think it's because they're so social."

"Social?" asked Jimmy. "You mean, like, they hang out together all day?"

"Yeah," answered Koki, "they live in huge groups and travel around foraging for food. They all take turns caring for the young and keeping watch and stuff like that. They can get pretty ferocious if their families or turf are in danger, too. It's pretty cool, right guys?"

No answer. The crew wheeled around to find nothing but empty space behind them and the doors wide open.

"Typical," muttered Koki.

"Hey!" said Jimmy. "Where'd they go?"

Aviva blew her bangs out of her eyes and shook her head. "Well, it seems the brothers Kratt have decided to check out for the day."

xxxx

"Woo-hoo!" shouted Martin as he and his brother sped out into the dry, open landscape. "This is gonna be so cool!"

"Yeah!" Chris agreed breathlessly, trying to keep up. The Tortuga was quickly becoming nothing but a turquoise spec in the distance behind them. "Keep your eyes open for signs of the meerkats."

"What?" Martin called, glancing back over his shoulder.

"I said keep your eyes—"

"AAAGH!" Suddenly, Martin stumbled and went down in spectacular face-plant which was accompanied by a cloud of dust.

"Whoa!" Chris ran up beside him and skidded to a stop. Martin was lying spread-eagled in the dirt with both feet wedged in a sizeable hole. Chris bent down with his hands on his knees, struggling to keep back a snort of laughter. "Wow, bro! That was—_ahem_—impressive!" Unable to hold it in any longer, he busted out laughing.

Martin lifted his face out of the dust and glared in annoyance at his brother for a few seconds before craning his head around to see what had sent him tumbling. Instantly, his expression brightened and he picked himself up.

"Hey, we're getting close! I stepped in a meerkat bolt-hole!"

Chris didn't answer since he was still busy gasping for breath before the next wave of laughter hit. Rolling his eyes, Martin turned away from the hole…and froze, mouth dangling open. About twenty feet away under a trio of scrubby trees was a group of meerkats, standing on their hind legs and observing the scene. One of them in particular, perched atop a narrow branch sticking out from a fallen tree, was eyeing the newcomers warily. The older Kratt slowly lowered himself into the sparse grass.

"Chris, stop laughing!" he whispered hoarsely. "There's a whole gang of the little guys right in front of us!"

Still not getting any kind of response except for a loud guffaw, Martin finally reached over and grabbed Chris by the collar of the shirt.

"HA-HA—_hlchk_!" Chris's last chuckle was cut short as his older sibling yanked him down to the ground. "Ow! What was that—" Martin took him by the chin and turned his head in the direction of the curious meerkats, pointing at them with the other hand. Chris gasped, eyes growing wide. "_Ohhh_!"

The two were silent for a moment as they stared in amazement at the animals. The meerkats stared right back, just as interested in the goings on as they were. It wasn't until the shrill beep of a creature pod cut through the quiet that anybody moved.

Chris hurriedly reached for his green device and touched it. Aviva's face appeared in the air.

"Hi guys," she said. "Found anything interesting since you left in such a hurry?"

Martin glanced uneasily at Chris. "Uh, about that…sorry we snuck out…"

Aviva waved him off, smiling. "Oh, don't worry. You two were just excited, as always. All that's left to say now is…well, welcome to the Kalahari!"


	3. Lookout

**Chapter 2**

**Lookout**

"Aviva," said Martin, standing up and helping Chris to his feet as well, "we've been to the Kalahari before now."

"I know…but we're here this time to discover the secrets of the meerkats!"

Martin and Chris blinked at her, then grinned.

"You're gonna make us meerkat discs, aren't you?!" Chris asked.

"Naturally! They must have some kind of cool creature power to be able to survive in this particular environment. It's up to you guys to unravel the of the mystery. Have you found any meerkats yet?"

"Yeah," said Chris, smirking at his brother. "Martin took a little trip a couple minutes ago and now we've got a whole gang of'em right here looking at us."

"Fantastic!" Aviva clapped her hands. "But what do you mean he 'took a little trip'?"

"Shh!" Martin made a grab for the creature pod, but Chris jerked it out of reach.

"Oh, Martin tripped over a nice bolt-hole while we were running."

"I meant to do it!" the older Kratt called out. "You should be grateful. If it weren't for me, we'd probably still be running!"

"Ha, whatever, dude."

Koki appeared beside a giggling Aviva. "Is that why there's dirt all over your face, MK?"

Martin folded his arms, scowling.

"What's a bolt-hole, anyway?" Jimmy asked, poking his head into the picture.

"It's a small burrow the meerkats use to hide from predators in a hurry," Chris explained. "They have them spread all throughout their territories just in case. And since some of their predators are hawks and eagles, it kinda helps to think of bolt-holes as mini air-raid shelters."

"Oh." The pilot took a bite out of the slice of pizza he was holding. "Cool."

"Speaking of air-raids…" Martin blurted suddenly, pointing toward the sky, "DUCK!"

Chris looked up at the large bird of prey swooping down at them. "Martin, that's not a duck, it's an—"

"No!" shouted Aviva. "He means 'duck' as in 'hit the deck'!"

"AAGH!" The brothers cut off the call abruptly and threw themselves to the ground, covering their heads as the eagle whooshed over. The sharp talons missed Chris's hair by mere inches.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Martin, looking up momentarily. "It's going for the meerkats!"

Before he could say anything else, the meerkat on top of the branch let out a shrill bark. Quick as a flash, the entire group crouched down or darted for cover and all but disappeared. The confused bird circled low over the area a few times, then wheeled into the air again with a disappointed shriek.

"Whoa, that was close!" said Martin.

"Tell me about it!" agreed Chris, running a hand through his hair to make sure it was all still there. "But that was amazing! All the meerkats are safe!"

"Brothers!" Aviva, Jimmy and Koki zapped back into existence. "What happened?!"

"Sentry duty!" Martin said out of the blue. "That's what happened!"

"Huh?" Jimmy asked.

"Hey, you're right!" said Chris.

"Right about what?" asked Koki.

"One of the meerkats was standing on top of a branch," Martin explained. "I think he was up there to keep an eye out for trouble."

Aviva snapped her fingers. "Oh, I get it. He was a lookout!"

"Exactly," said Chris. "And he was a good one too since he warned the rest of the gang to take cover before they could become a bunch of meer-snacks."

"Wow," said Jimmy. "Talk about a great alarm system."

"Hmm." Martin thought with a hand on his chin. "I think that's what I'll call him."

The tech crew exchanged glances.

"You're gonna call him 'Alarm System'?" Koki asked disbelievingly.

"No! I'm calling him 'Lookout'!"

"Whew!" breathed Aviva. "You had us worried there for a second."

"Whaddaya mean by that?" Martin sounded slightly offended.

"Well, given your history with names…"

Martin stuck out his tongue as Chris put a hand on his shoulder. "Nice name, bro, but if we want to find out more about Lookout and his buddies, we're gonna have to get up close and personal."

"But I don't have enough information to even _think_ about starting on the discs yet!" Aviva protested.

Chris reached into a pocket, pulled out a flat, circular device, and tossed it to the ground with a flick of his thumb.

"Then it's a good thing I brought along the miniaturizer."


	4. Bugs and Dirt

***A/N: GAAAH! This is a lot harder to write than I expected! What have I gotten myself into?! It's like writing a research paper…except without the professor breathing down my neck and the annotated bibliography at the end... Ok, so it's not **_**that**_** bad, but still! *Pounds knuckles into face* …ow.**

**Chapter 3**

**Bugs and Dirt**

Chef Gourmand kept his nose to the ground, snuffling and sniffing at the various scents his ridiculously sensitive nose could pick up as he crept along. He was so wrapped up in this task, in fact, that he never noticed the shouts of excitement and the beam of blue light shooting skyward from about forty feet away. Finally, just as the beam dissipated, he came across a particularly interesting smell and stopped.

"Mmm-mm!" he said, straightening and smacking his lips. "There it is! But…what _is_ it? It's comin' from over there…"

Crouching back down, he inched forward through the sparse, prickly grass a ways until he came to a thicker, taller clump. Reaching out, he parted it and his patience was rewarded with a view of his prize. There in front of him, scampering around the mouth of a small burrow while a few adults looked on, were four or five meerkat pups.

His face split into a wicked grin. "Aha!" He let the grass fall back together and rubbed his hands eagerly. "Aw, these tender squirrelies will make the best little meatloaf I ever did taste." He took another peek at the small animals. "But they won't come easy. I'm gonna hafta hang tight 'til the big'uns ain't lookin'. They always say good things come to those who wait, eh-heh-heh!"

xxxx

A meerkat-sized Martin was the first to hop down from the miniaturizer.

"C'mon, Chris! Let's go meet the gang!"

Chris landed next to his brother. "Right behind ya, bro!"

The pair jogged off, completely oblivious to but unseen by the evil chef who was peeking through the grass further away at that very moment. Soon enough, they paused, fascinated by what their meerkat buddies were currently up to.

The little animals were busy digging around in the dirt for food. Their long claws made the job only too easy and the pickings seemed to be good. Bug after tasty bug was snatched up and gulped down as if it was a last meal.

"Now that's what I call 'fast food'," said Martin. "Look at'em go!"

"Well, when you're a meerkat," Chris said, pulling out his creature pod to start scanning, "eating as much as you possibly can is a top priority since you don't exactly have any stores of body fat to rely on. Eating is a big part of what you do all day."

"Hey, sounds like a good deal to me. Eat, sleep and…eat."

"Except for the fact that when you're the size of a squirrel, you make a pretty convenient to-go snack for predators in a hurry. That's where sentry duty comes in. Imagine trying to eat with the constant danger of being eaten yourself."

Martin considered this for a second. "Good point. Huh, I wonder what else meerkats do?" He didn't get to speculate for long since his attention was snagged almost immediately by something else. "Hey, there's Lookout! And check out the size of that millipede he's caught!"

A holographic Aviva zapped into the space beside them from Martin's creature pod. "What's he doing? I thought he was supposed to be keeping an eye out for danger?"

"Don't worry," said Chris. "Adult meerkats take sentry duty in shifts while they're out foraging. See?" He pointed at the newest guard standing on the tree branch.

Aviva relaxed a little. "Whew! I was a little worried."

"We could tell," said Martin.

"Hey," Jimmy said as he too appeared. "Why is Lookout rolling that big bug around on the ground?"

"It makes the millipedes taste better," Martin answered.

Koki appeared, a tablet computer in one hand and the other on a hip. "Oh, come on. You're telling us meerkats season their food with _dirt_?"

"Not exactly. Millipedes aren't the tastiest bugs around. The meerkats roll them in the dirt to rub off the bad taste before gobbling them up. Pretty ingenious trick if you ask me."

"Uh-huh…" Jimmy trailed off, looking at the pizza slice in his hand and smiling. Then he zapped out abruptly.

"Jimmy, what're you—ew!" Koki shrieked. "Don't even think about it! Dirt doesn't belong on pizza!" Her projection vanished as well.

Chris and Martin both choked back snorts of laughter.

Aviva merely rolled her eyes. "I don't even wanna know. Anyway, I don't see a water source out there…"

"That's because meerkats get most of the water they need from the food they eat," said Chris. "Cool, huh?"

"Very! It must be nice not to have to be tied to a watering hole all the time. Let's see…" she thought for a moment, "I think I might have enough information to start on the discs. Keep it up, guys!"

"Awesome!" Martin high-fived his brother.

"I'll send you some scans once I finish them," said Chris.

"Perfect." Aviva paused. "So…what're you two going to do now?"

"Hmm…" Chris glanced up at the sky. The sunlight was starting to fade. "Well, it's getting late…"

"…and the meerkats look like they're wrapping things up…" added Martin.

"…which means they'll probably be heading to their burrow for the night." Chris turned to his older brother, grinning excitedly. "We can check out where they live! I've always wanted to see the inside of a meerkat den!"

Martin returned the grin. "They might have pups!"

Aviva rolled her eyes heavenward. "Ok then, you two have fun sleeping in a hole with a bunch of fuzzy animals tonight."

"Oh don't worry, we will."


	5. Snake!

**Chapter 4**

**Snake!**

Chris and Martin staggered to a stop and flopped to the ground after the long trek back to the den. The meerkats seemed not to mind the walk, but the two brothers were ready to die from exhaustion.

"Whoa," Martin panted, "it takes a lot longer to get anywhere when you're so small!"

"Ugh," Chris moaned in agreement. "I'm just glad we don't have to go any further. And the sad part is we're not that far from where we started in human terms."

Suddenly, Martin perked up beside him. "Hey, look!" He pointed at the mouth of the den where five little furballs were scrambling out, tumbling over each other in their rush to get to one of the other meerkats. "The pups! And I think that's their mom!"

Chris gasped and pushed up from the ground. "That means we've located the leader of the mob!"

Aviva appeared in front of them. "Cuuuute! But this gang is so big! Shouldn't there be more than just five little pups?"

"Nope," said Martin, standing up as well. "Only the alpha pair has all the pups."

"Right," Chris added, "and since meerkat societies are matriarchal, Momma-Kat is kinda like the queen of the pack. She's the one that makes all the rules, so whatever she says goes."

"Momma-Kat?" said Martin, rubbing his chin. "Hmm. I kinda like it."

Chris shrugged. "With over twenty meerkats running around, I had to get a name in _somewhere_."

"Sounds like a pretty strict hierarchy to me," commented Aviva.

"It is, but the cool thing is that the entire family works together. Everybody takes turns babysitting the pups, keeping watch, and fending off threats like predators and other gangs."

"Teamwork!" Aviva said. "So _that_ must be the secret to how they're able to survive!"

"It definitely helps," Martin agreed. "I mean, you can't go wrong with the whole 'safety in numbers' thing out here."

Chris nudged him. "I think everybody's starting to settle down for the evening. Now's our chance to get an insider's view of the den!"

Aviva sighed, seeing that their short conversation was coming to an end. "I'll keep you guys posted on the discs. Zap out."

"Let's go!" Martin tugged his brother along after him and they slid down into the burrow's opening. "Nice place you guys have here," he commented to the meerkat nearest him once inside. The only response he got was a quiet purring sound as she curled up next to her family members.

"Hey, c'mere." Chris motioned from where he was across the main chamber. He pulled out his headlamp and switched it on.

Martin headed over, taking out his own light. "Whatcha got, bro?"

"There's a fork in the tunnel. I wonder what's down there?"

"Maybe there's a back door?"

There was a brief pause as the two of them strained to see down each branch as far as they could. After that, they exchanged glances, both knowing precisely what the other was thinking.

"I'll take the right," said Chris.

"I'll go left," said Martin at almost the exact same time.

xxxx

Chris wandered along the passage, sweeping the beam of his headlamp left and right, up and down. There wasn't much to see other than dirt, roots, a few bugs, and more dirt. All in all, it wasn't very impressive…that was until he nearly stepped on a pile of fur as another large chamber opened up.

"Whoa!" he said, jumping back as the pile let out an answering squeak. Several surprised pairs of eyes popped up. Chris grinned. "Ground squirrels! Wow, this den is your home too!" He turned to see the shaft of dim light coming in through another opening several feet away. "So there _is_ a back door. Interesting…I wonder who else could be living in here—"

As if in immediate answer, a panicked yell met his ears.

"That doesn't sound good! Gotta run!" Chris said to the squirrels before whirling around on his heel and sprinting off down the tunnel.

"GAAAA!" came another shout, closer this time.

"Martin! Martin, you ok?"

All Chris got in reply was a string of panicked gibberish before he rounded the corner into the main chamber of the meerkat den.

"Bro! What's going—OOF!"

The two brothers collided head-on at full speed and both went sprawling to the ground. For a few seconds, all they could do was gasp for breath. Finally, Martin jumped to his feet and yanked Chris up by the front of his shirt.

"SNAKE!" he blurted. "I RAN INTO A HUGE S-S-SNAKE! It's coming down the passage!"

"What?!"

"C'mon, we gotta get outta here!" He whipped around and took off for the den's opening.

Chris was about to ask what they should do about the meerkats, but they seemed to be on top of things already. Evidently, news of the uninvited guest had traveled down the passage much faster than even Martin could run. The entire mob was at full alert, chirping and barking and on their way out the door with the tiny pups in tow.

"Hey, wait up!" he called after his older brother, who was already vaulting through the exit. In a matter of seconds, the den was empty. Chris started after them as well, but came to a standstill at the frightening hissing sound just behind him. Slowly, as the hair stood up on the back of his neck, he turned…and came face-to-face with the giant reptile. He gulped, backing up. "Um…hi…"

Too preoccupied with the hypnotizing gaze of the snake as it slithered closer, Chris stumbled over a small rock jutting up from the ground behind him. Arms flailing, he toppled over backwards just as the snake struck.


	6. Battle for the Burrow

**Chapter 5**

**Battle for the Burrow**

Chris flinched and covered his head. Fortunately, the snake's jaws snapped down on the empty space where he'd been standing a mere second before. Undeterred, it recoiled, gearing up for a second attack.

"MARTIN!" Chris hollered, trying to scramble backwards up the steep slope to the burrow's opening. "HELP!"

The snake hissed threateningly, watching his every move as he somehow made it to the top. Before he could make another move, it struck again.

"Whoa!" Chris barely had the presence of mind to roll to the side and instead of the tasty morsel it had been expecting, all the snake got was a snout-full of dirt. Enraged, it reared back, intent on doing him in once and for all. With nowhere else to turn, Chris braced himself for the inevitable. This was it. He was done for. He scrunched his eyes shut and prepared for the worst.

"OH NOOOO-_aack_!"

Somebody grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and yanked him backwards out the exit. The snake's face slammed into the dirt once again since Chris was already well on his way away from the den.

After being dragged over the sand several feet to a safe distance, the grip loosened and he flopped to the dirt flat on his back. Momentarily dazed by his narrow escape and from the drop, all he could do was blink up at the sky, gasping. Suddenly, Martin's face appeared upside-down over him.

"CHRIS?!"

"AAAAAGH!" Chris sat bolt upright.

"Are you ok?!"

"I—the snake—almost eaten—" Chris spluttered.

Martin reached down and pulled his brother to his feet. "Whew! Good thing I pulled ya outta there before…bro?" He waved a hand in front of Chris's pale face.

"Uuughh…" was all he said as he pitched forward to the ground in a dead faint.

"Oops." Martin stared after him for a few seconds before…

*_Beep-beep-beep!_*

He automatically reached for his creature pod, but realized it was Chris's. Quickly, he bent down and pulled it out of his pocket. Aviva came up on the screen.

"Hey, Chris, I need those—" She squinted at him.

"Sorry," said Martin. "Wrong brother."

"Where's Chris?"

"Well…he's out at the moment, but you can leave a message."

Aviva lifted an eyebrow. "Out? What do you mean?"

"Out as in 'out cold'. That answer your question?"

Aviva folded her arms. "Ok, what happened? What did you do?"

"What did I…I just saved his life!"

Her eyes widened. "Really? From what?"

"A huge snake got into the meerkat burrow. I thought he was right behind me when everybody—"

"A _snake_?! In the burrow? Where are the meerkats? Are you guys—"

"We're fine and so are the meer…kats…" he trailed off as something caught his attention and his eyes lit up with excitement. "Whoaaaa!"

"Martin? Hello? MK, what're you looking at?" Aviva's hologram zapped into existence beside him.

Martin stepped over his unconscious brother. "Speaking of the meerkats being just fine…they're _mobbing_ the snake!"

Aviva gasped as he pointed in the direction of the commotion just outside the den. Sure enough, the snake was now very occupied trying to get rid of all the little assailants.

"Oh no!" Aviva said. "Don't just stand there, you've got to help them!"

Martin waved his hands. "No, no, it's ok! I think they've got everything under control."

The two of them watched as the furry group charged forward at the hissing intruder as one. Every time it nipped at them, they would jump back instantly and a few of them at the front of the assault narrowly missed getting a painful bite. Soon, the snake had had enough and slithered off to find some other place that wasn't so annoying. The meerkats stood up on their hind legs to watch it go, purring and chirping and seeming pleased with their work. Seeing that the ordeal was over, the pups scampered back to the comfort and safety of their family.

"And that's the game, folks!" Martin punched the air with a fist. "Meerkats one, snake _nothiiiing!_

"Wow!" exclaimed Aviva. "That was unbelievable!"

"The meerkats have taken back their home turf and that snake is history!"

"Uh, Martin?"

"And the crowd goes wild! Yeaaaaaah!"

"Martin."

"He's outta here!"

"Martin!"

He snapped back into reality. "What? You don't like my commentary?"

"Oh no, it's great and all, don't get me wrong, but…" Aviva pointed at Chris still on the ground, "you should probably take care of your brother now."

Martin considered this for a moment. "Oh yeah. Eh-heh…"


	7. Morning at the Meerkat Den

***A/N: Thanks for all the nice reviews, everybody! I'm so glad you're enjoying this story. I was super close to giving up and deleting it, but you guys are totally making it worthwhile to keep going! :D**

**Chapter 6**

**Morning at the Meerkat Den**

Martin sneezed, then opened his eyes as a little ball of fuzz tumbled off his chest.

"Well, hi little guy," he said to the surprised meerkat pup before sitting up and finding another one curled up by his legs. Martin glanced around the den, but the rest of the family was nowhere to be found. "Huh. Where'd everybody go?"

As if in answer, Momma-Kat came into the burrow, rounded up the two stray pups and herded them outside into the bright morning sunlight. Only a few tufts of fur were left floating in the air after them.

"Hey, Chris!" He reached over to his brother—who was still sprawled on the ground where he'd deposited him the evening before—and gave him a nudge. "Wake up!"

Chris's eyes snapped open. "EEP!—SNAKE!"

"Take it easy! That snake is yesterday's news."

Chris blinked. "What? That happened…yesterday?"

"Yeah. You've been out forever."

Chris threw him a blank look as he sat up. "Where are all the meerkats?"

Before the older sibling could reply, another creature pod call cut him off. He pulled the blue device out and tapped it.

"Morning, brothers!" Aviva sang. "I have a surprise for you!"

"Aviva!" Chris blurted. "I'm so sorry! I was going to send you the scans last night but there was this snake and…" he trailed off, rubbing his chin, "and everything after that is kinda fuzzy."

Their crewmate waved him off. "Don't worry about it. Martin sent them to me after you fainted."

"I didn't faint!" Chris said defensively. "I…blacked out."

Aviva giggled. "Whatever, CK. We're just glad Martin got to you before the snake did!"

"I'm never going to live this down, am I?" Chris sighed.

"Nope." Martin grinned. "You owe me one."

"Anyway," Aviva continued, "as I was saying, he sent me the scans and I was able to use the information to program the meerkat discs!"

"Really?!" both brothers said at once.

Aviva turned to look over her shoulder. "Jimmy?" she called.

With a flash and a zap, two orange discs materialized out of thin air. Reaching up, the two snatched them eagerly.

"Wow, thanks!" said Martin.

"No problem," said Aviva. "Just be careful. We don't need anybody else getting cornered by snakes or carried off by eagles."

"Don't worry," said Chris as he pulled on his vest. "We've got everything under control now so there won't be any more trouble."

Aviv raised an eyebrow in visible skepticism. "Ha! I'll believe it when I see it."

"And what's _that _supposed to mean?" Martin asked, reaching for one of the tufts of hair left behind by the pups.

"C'mon, guys. I just gave you two untested discs loaded with new creature powers. Something's bound to come up." She winked. "Just give us a call if you get into another jam."

Hardly amused, the two brothers each crossed their arms and stuck their tongues out at her as she disappeared with another giggle.

xxxx

Every individual in the meerkat clan was standing up straight, balancing his weight evenly between the hind legs and the long tail. The morning ritual of greeting the sun and allowing its rays to warm their little tummies was well under way by the time the two newest members of the mob, one green and one blue, climbed out of the den to join them.

Chris and Martin stopped at the burrow's mouth to exchange a high-five with their front meerkat paws.

"This is gonna be great!" said Martin.

"Yeah, I can't wait to get out there with the gang. But what' everybody doing just standing around?"

"Chris, aren't you forgetting? Meerkat bellies are like solar panels! Every morning, they warm up by catching some rays."

"Oh yeah! And look, even the kids are getting in on it." Chris pointed.

The five pups were attempting to stand up like their relatives. They kept falling over until they figured out that Momma –Kat or an older sibling made for good props.

"You can learn a lot by watching what everybody else in the family does," said Martin.

"Right," agreed Chris. "That's how they'll teach those pups everything they need to know about being a meerkat."

"And that's how _we'll_ learn too!"

"Exactly."

They paused to watch as members of the clan started breaking off and scratching at the dirt around the den with their long claws. Soon, all of them were busy with this task and some even went so far as to scoop out sand inside the hole itself.

"Now what're they doing?" Martin asked.

"I think they're cleaning up before they head off for the day."

"Oh! Like when mom would tell us to make our beds before going to school in the morning?"

"That's right."

The two observed for a moment more until the group began to spread and separate. A couple of the older siblings were staying close to the burrow where the pups were busy tumbling over each other.

"Hmm," said Chris. "I think I'll go out with the group. I've gotta find out more about what it's like to stand guard."

"Great," Martin answered. "I'll stay here for pup-sitting duty. I think they like me!"

Chris smiled, shaking his head as Martin trotted off to join the two helpers watching over the playful pups.


	8. Chris's Mistake

**Chapter 7**

**Chris's Mistake**

The gang hadn't strayed too far from the den since there seemed to be plenty of food nearby. In human terms, they were still within about a ten foot radius of home base.

Chris watched interestedly as a young female rolled a delicious millipede in the sand and took a bite. It was then that he realized just how hungry he still was. After all, he hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. Nevertheless, he continued to observe as the meerkat crunched up the last of the bug and moved on to find the next catch.

She didn't have to wait long since that snack turned up in the form of a huge scorpion. To Chris's surprise, she chased it down and cornered it against a rock. He couldn't help but flinch as it whipped its deadly tail at her.

"Wow," he said. "Are you really gonna eat that thing?"

Undeterred by the arachnid and Chris's question, she expertly removed the stinger and gobbled up her tasty treat.

"Whoa! How did you…" Chris started, then smacked his forehead. "Of course! Meerkats are naturally immune to certain types of venom! That thing would've killed a human. You knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you?"

The meerkat stood up on her hind legs to sniff at the air a few times before scampering away to find more to eat. Chris was about to follow, but a rumbling from his empty stomach stopped him in his tracks.

"Man, I'm starving!" He glanced around the area and was rewarded with a glimpse of another stinger-tipped tail scuttling through the weeds. "Ok, I gotta try this."

Chris took off on all-fours after the bug, which was heading toward the den. He followed it into a bare patch of sand where it stopped. Now was his chance to really see what it was like to eat like a meerkat…and pick up some breakfast while he was at it. He paused, not quite sure whether he actually wanted to do this or not. But…the scorpion looked strangely appetizing…and he was so, so, _so_ hungry!

"Maybe just one little taste…what can that hurt?"

Tongue hanging out, he leaned forward. Just as he was about to get a sample, something shot out in front of his face and snagged him by the tongue.

"Chris!" Martin shouted, causing the scorpion to dart away.

"UH! Weggo muh hung!"

"Where you trying to _eat_ that scorpion?!"

"Uh-huh! Weh go!"

"Are you out of your mind?! Why do you always have to eat everything when you're an animal? And how many more times am I gonna have to save your neck on this trip?"

Chris pried his brother's fingers away from his tongue. "Ugh! Yuck! Now there's sand in my mouth!"

"Better than what _could_ have been in your mouth. You of all people should know that _that_ species of scorpion is highly poisonous."

"Martin, we're meerkats!" Chris protested. "Meerkats are immune to some kinds of venom, remember?"

Martin blinked. "Oh yeah. Eh-heh…I knew that." Chris glared at him. "I'll just get back to those pups. Bye!" He sidestepped and hightailed it for the burrow.

Chris, hungry as ever—and with his mouth feeling like he'd bitten into a piece of sandpaper to boot—sulked off to catch up with the clan. The meerkats were still hard at work foraging, but one thing was missing from the picture. The large, dead tree stump, which had been serving as today's lookout post, was vacant.

Chris perked up immediately. This was the opportunity he'd been waiting for! It was his turn to stand watch! Quickly, he dashed over and scaled the dry chunk of wood. He was bound and determined to do whatever he could to protect his adopted family. How hard could it really be?

xxxx

Forty five minutes later Chris was still at it. He stood on the very top of the stump with a hand over his eyes to shield them from the blazing light of the midday sun. It was hot but he wasn't going to let anything keep him from doing his job. So far, he'd successfully alerted the group to the presence of two eagles, a hawk, and a marauding pair of hyenas. He had this sentry-duty thing down!

His stomach gave protesting growl. Somehow, he'd been so occupied that he hadn't realized he still hadn't had anything to eat. For the first time since climbing up the stump, his concentration was broken. If he didn't find something to eat soon, he was sure he was going to starve to death—

No, he couldn't abandon his post! The gang was depending on him…but he was so incredibly hungry. He only needed a quick snack. That was all… Slowly, he descended the stump, searching the ground for anything edible.

As luck would have it, just as his attention was grabbed by a juicy bug on the sand below, a large figure crept unnoticed through the grass right behind him.

xxxx

Martin yawned as the five pups, tuckered out from a morning filled with wrestling and playing, drifted off in a pile beside him. He and the other two helpers were having a particularly hard time keeping their eyes open. The shade of the scrubby trees offered very little relief from the heat of the day.

Even though he was currently standing upright and using his tail for balance, he felt himself wobble. He wanted to stay awake, he _needed_ to, but the weight of his eyelids was too much. He tipped forward and was asleep and snoring before he hit the ground.

Unfortunately, Chris was too busy trying to catch a bug to see the evil chef pop out from his hiding spot behind the clump of grass. Swiftly and quietly, he took out a large knapsack and snatched up the sleeping pups and their babysitters without bothering to look too closely at the unnaturally blue member of the group. Snickering to himself, Gourmand slung the bag over his shoulder and tip-toed away.


	9. A Brother for a Bug

**Chapter 8**

**A Brother for a Bug**

Chris was just about to taste the bug he'd finally caught when a strange feeling came over him. It was one of those nasty, gut-sinking realizations that something somewhere was very wrong. Dropping the bug, he whipped around…and gasped. Even from this distance, his keen meerkat eyesight could pick out the all too familiar form of Gourmand trotting away from the den. And to make matters worse, the chef wasn't leaving the area empty-handed. Chris wasn't sure what was in the bulging knapsack, but he had a pretty good guess.

Without stopping to think, he bolted in the direction of the burrow. Once there, his suspicions were confirmed. Martin was nowhere to be seen and neither were the pups or the other helpers.

"Oh no!" He grabbed his hair in his fists. "No, no, no, no, no!"

The sound of a truck engine revving to life sent a wave of panic through his entire being. Gourmand's vehicle was about thirty feet away. He had to get there before it left! Chris broke into a sprint, so intent on closing the distance between him and the vehicle in as little time as possible that he didn't bother to consider what exactly he would do once he got there. Putting on one last burst of speed, he somehow managed to catch up to the truck…

It was too late. It lurched forward, kicking up a cloud of dust and exhaust which enveloped the younger Kratt. Coughing and unable to see where he was going, he tripped and went sprawling.

A few seconds later, the cloud settled. Dazed but unhurt, Chris lifted up his head, unable to do anything but watch the truck drive away…with his brother inside it. He got to his knees, trying to comprehend what had just happened.

This was his fault and he had to fix it. He had to save Martin and the other meerkats from being eaten…but how?

xxxx

Martin awoke with a nasty jolt. He'd been having an incredibly horrible dream about being kidnapped by Gourmand and getting shoved into a bag along with a bunch of meerkats…

"YIPE!" Another painful jarring motion brought home the realization that he actually was being bashed around inside a knapsack. "Oh no! CHRIS! HELP!"

There was no answering call and Chris's odd silence prompted Martin's head to fill up with questions. Maybe his brother was too far away to hear him yelling? Maybe he'd gotten distracted—no, Chris didn't get distracted very easily. He was supposed to be standing guard just a few feet from the den. How had he not seen Gourmand sneaking up to take them away? Something was very wrong with this picture.

Martin tried to sit up, but found he was buried under a pile of frightened meerkat pups and the other two adults. The sound of Gourmand's pounding footsteps told him they were heading somewhere in a hurry. This couldn't be good.

Soon, the bumpy ride was over. The chef came to a stop and after a sickening swinging sensation, the bag came to rest on a hard surface. The weight of the other meerkats on top of him forced all the air out of Martin's lungs momentarily. All he could do was sit there as Gourmand's footsteps faded out and were replaced by the roar of a truck engine.

xxxx

Chris fumbled around in a panic for his creature pod.

"Tortuga!" he shouted once he'd located it. "Come in, Tortuga! Quick!"

Koki appeared on the screen. "Hey, CK! What's up?"

"Martin's been kidnapped!"

She stared as Jimmy poked his head into the picture. "_Kidnapped_?!"

"Gourmand showed up and took him along with all the pups and two other meerkats!"

Aviva came to a standstill next to Koki. "How? I thought you were supposed to be on watch?"

Chris gulped. "I was but…I was really, really hungry and it was just for a second and…"

The tech crew gasped collectively. "What did you _do_?"

"I left my post to eat…a bug," he admitted, then flinched, bracing for the backlash.

Jimmy dropped the piece of pizza he was about to take a bite out of. "You abandoned your own brother for a _bug_ after he saved you from a giant snake?!"

"I didn't _abandon_ him, I—"

"Ugh!" said Koki. "You were gonna eat a bug? That's gross!"

"Well, I did program the discs to incorporate the meerkats' appetites and venom immunity…" Aviva started, then gave Chris a stern look. "But that's beside the point at the moment. You've got to find a way to stop Gourmand!"

"I can't do this by myself!"

"You don't have to."

"Huh?"

"Dude!" Jimmy leaned in. "You've got a whole meerkat family now! It's like having your own army!"

A lightbulb flicked on inside Chris's head. "You're right! Gourmand's on our turf and when an enemy of the clan invades…" he grinned, rubbing his hands together, "that means war!"

xxxx

Chef Gourmand hummed happily to himself as bounced into the fold-out kitchen in the back of his truck. The knapsack gave a wriggle as well as a series of muffled chirping sounds as he approached.

"I can't _wait_ to let you little meerkats outta the bag and get started on my newest, tastiest creation! Now let's just count y'all up t'see how many—EEYOW!" No sooner had he reached inside the bag than he jerked his hand out again. Attached to the tip of one finger by nothing but his teeth was a blue meerkat.

"AAAAAGH!" Gourmand howled and flapped his arm. Amazingly, Martin managed to hold on. "It's got me! Get off, ya little—" With one more flip, the older Kratt went flying, smacked into the wall and slid to the floor. Gourmand stepped over him, his angry expression changing to one of recognition. "We-e-ell! If it isn't a little 'MeerKratt'? Or should I say 'Blue Berry'?" He snatched a long spoon from a messy pile of utensils on the counter.

Too stunned and winded from his impact with the wall, Martin couldn't do anything but lie there flat on his back as the chef used the spoon-handle to poke the activation button in the creature power suit. With a flash of blue light, he was human-sized again and no longer a meerkat. The chef reached down and yanked him up by the collar of his shirt.

Martin smiled nervously. "Um…heyyy. What's up?"


	10. Martin Vs the Chef

**Chapter 9**

**Martin Vs. the Chef**

"Ow!" Martin yelped as Gourmand tightened the ropes around him.

"That oughtta keep ya outta my hair fer a while. By the way, where's yer brother? I thought you two were inseperable?"

"He'll get here…I hope. But you'll never get away with this!" Martin thought for a second. "Um, what exactly aren't you going to get away with again? I don't think you got around to telling me your big plans before tying me to a chair."

"Ah, well these little squirrelies o' yers are gonna make the finest meatloaf in this hemisphere."

"What?!" Martin blurted. "No way! You can't do that!"

The chef narrowed his eyes and came a bit closer. "And why not?"

"First off, they're not squirrels, they're meerkats which are part of the mongoose—"

"I know that!" He leaned in even more.

"Ok, then, second…_meatloaf_? You can't be serious. There's no meat on'em anywhere! That's why they have to eat so much every day!"

Gourmand was practically nose-to-nose with Martin now, glaring. "Yeah?"

Martin glared right back. "Yeah. And third, eating those meerkats is just plain mean."

"Oh? And what're you gonna do about it, Blue Berry?"

"I'm gonna...that is…um…" Martin trailed off. What _was_ he going to do? The truth was he couldn't do anything at the moment. He wasn't going anywhere and his creature power suit had been confiscated almost as soon as he was human again. "I'll get back to you on this one."

"That's what I thought." Smirking wickedly, Gourmand straightened and made his way across the kitchen to the wriggling knapsack still sitting on the countertop.

"Hey!" said Martin, using his feet to scoot the chair backwards across the floor toward him. "You leave those little meerkats alone! I'm warning you!"

Gourmand looked up and lifted an eyebrow. The two were locked in an intense staring match for a moment, but the chef decided that Martin wasn't much of a threat and continued opening the bag. A little more carefully this time, he reached inside and pulled out one of the pups by the scruff of the neck. It squirmed and let out a tiny, terrified yelp.

"Ok, that's it!" Gritting his teeth, Martin scooted over the remaining few feet in an impressively small amount of time. Gourmand, preoccupied with counting up the meerkats, wasn't at all prepared when Martin tipped himself over backwards and knocked right into him.

"WAAAGH!" shrieked the chef as he went crashing to the floor, causing him to drop the bag. Not about to stick around and wait to be turned into meatloaf, the two meerkat helpers seized the opportunity to round up the pups and make their break for it.

"Go!" Martin yelled from the floor after them. "RUUUN!"

"Get back here, ya little runts!" Gourmand snatched the bag and scrambled upright. Surprisingly quick on his feet for someone his size, he dashed after the fleeing creatures.

After he was sure the villain was gone, Martin immediately started trying to work his way out of the ropes. It wasn't easy since he'd landed so that the knot was pinched between the back of the chair and the floor.

"C'mon, c'monnn…" He continued to wriggle for several minutes and finally felt the ropes loosen slightly. He was just about to slip them over his head when a large shadow fell across him. And there was an angry and very winded-looking Gourmand. Judging by the bulging knapsack clutched in his right fist, he'd successfully recaptured the meerkats and the pups.

"I ain't gonna stand for no more a yer nonsense!" He said, placing the bag back on the counter, then bending over Martin's chair to set it on its feet again.

"Uh-oh…"

The chef went around to the back of the chair and tightened the knots. "Looks like I'm gonna have t'deal with you first, heh-heh-heh! But what do I do with ya, huh?"

Martin gulped as he circled around in front of him again and smoothed out his tiny excuse for a moustache.

"I could feed ya t'the crocs…"

"Ummm…how about not?"

"Or I could throw ya t'the lions. They're always hungry."

"Again, I vote no."

"Ooh!" Gourmand rubbed his hands together gleefully. "I know! What about takin' a little dunk in the river with the hippos? How's _that_ sound, Blue Berry?"

"It depends. If you untie me and give me back my creature power suit, I'd say go ahead and try it, but since that doesn't look it'll happen any time soon, it's a no-go."

"Well too bad!" Gourmand grabbed the back of the chair, tipped it so that it was balancing on two legs, and began dragging him across the kitchen to the open exit at the end. "That's where yer goin'!"

"Wait a second! Hang on! Can we at least talk this over?!"

"Nope! I got a deeeelicious meatloaf t'make an' I can't have ya botherin' me no more!"

"Oh c'mon! I won't be any trouble! Just don't throw me into the—"

"Hold it right there!"

Gourmand stopped short as a third, very familiar voice cut into the conversation.


	11. Revenge of the Meerkats

***A/N: Once again, thank you, my wonderful readers, for the encouragement and for the fun comments! This story was kinda tough, but we made it! Thanks for sticking with me! You guys rock! ;)**

**Chapter 10**

**Revenge of the Meerkats**

"Aw, look!" sneered Gourmand. "If it ain't another little MeerKratt here t'rescue his big brother!"

"Chris!" Martin shouted, smiling with relief as he craned his head around to see past the chef. "Glad you could make it! Where ya been?"

Chris, still in his meerkat suit, was standing on the very edge of the fold-out restaurant area of Gourmand's kitchen with his arms crossed.

"Well, it's kind of a long story…"

"I ain't in the mood for story-time, Green Grape, so you better stay outta my way!"

"You've got to stop'im bro!" yelped Martin as Gourmand started dragging him off once more. "We're on our way to the river so he can throw me in with the hippos! And then he's gonna turn the meerkats into a meatloaf—"

Gourmand let the chair fall all the way over with a thud.

"Ow."

"Hang tight, Martin," Chris called. "I've got this all figured out."

"Oh yeah?" The chef unsheathed his ever-handy rolling pin and took a few menacing steps toward the younger Kratt. "And what's one little green meerkat gonna do against me, huh?"

"Oh, I didn't come by myself. I brought along some friends. Hope you don't mind." With that, Chris let out a shrill barking noise. A few seconds later, a seemingly endless torrent of fuzzy little tan animals hopped up and over the ledge and charged the chef. "Go get'em, gang!"

"AAAAIIIIEEEE—WHOA!" Startled at the unexpected onslaught, Gourmand staggered back, tripping over Martin in the process. Arms flailing, he went down with a heavy thud just as the meerkats began to swarm around him, chirping and barking with their tails held high in the air as a sign of aggression. "What're they doin'?! They're gonna eat me!"

"They're not trying to eat you," Chris answered, barely keeping back a laugh, "you're just on our home turf and we want you out! You also happen to have something we'd really, really like back."

The villain jumped up and hopped over to the bag on the counter as the little animals continued their attack. "Alright, alright! You can have yer scrawny kittens back! Here!" He put it on the floor and bolted out the rear exit, still howling to high heaven.

"Ha-ha! See ya, Gourmand!" Martin called from the ground.

The meerkats stood up on their tails to watch the chef leave, then crowded around the knapsack, eager for the return of their missing family members. Chris deactivated his suit and hurried over to lend a hand.

"There ya go," he said as he opened the bag and the tiny pups tumbled out on top of each other, followed closely by the two helpers. The rest of the grateful meerkats looked up at him, purring their thanks. "Hey, no prob! Glad I could help."

"Little help over here would be nice," Martin hinted from behind him.

"Oh yeah." Chris hauled the chair back to its upright position and got to work on the knot.

"What happened back there, bro? I thought you were on sentry duty?"

Chris cleared his throat nervously. "_Ah-hem_…about that…I kinda…"

"You kinda what?"

"I got a little…that is…"

Martin narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but he couldn't look his brother in the eye since he was behind him at the moment. "Chris…" he said slowly.

"Wow, this knot is really tight!"

"Chris, what did you do?"

Chris coughed and covered his mouth. "Uhgmmhmfgh…" he mumbled into a hand.

"Uh…mind running that by me again?"

It was no use delaying any longer. The time had come to fess up. Taking a deep breath, Chris prepared himself for the chewing out he was sure would follow.

"Ok, ok!" he blurted, squeezing his eyes shut and grabbing a fistful of his hair in each hand. "I admit! I got really hungry and left my post to eat a bug!"

There was a second or two of awkward silence.

"You did _what_?!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

The legs of the chair scraped against the floor as Martin attempted to turn himself around to face his guilty brother.

"I was almost dumped into a river full of hippos because you—WHOA!" the chair tipped over sideways and Martin again found himself on the ground.

Chris flinched, then hurried to help his older sibling. "You ok?"

"Ow," Martin answered, then sighed. " Look, I guess I can forgive you if you'll _please _just hurry up and untie me from this stupid chair!"

"I'm on it."

xxxx

Chris, Martin, and the rest of the Wild Kratts crew were seated under the three scrubby trees by the meerkat den. Evening was falling fast and the clan was busy trying to herd the rambunctious pups underground for the night.

"I've gotta hand it to you, Chris" commented Koki, "that was a pretty impressive rescue, even if it _was_ a little late." She winked at him.

Martin threw an arm around Chris's shoulders. "Well, he _did_ owe me for saving him from the snake."

"It's lucky you showed up with the whole family, CK," added Jimmy. "Just one little meerkat could never defend his territory all by himself."

"And that's exactly how meerkats are able to survive in the Kalahari," Aviva chimed in. "They work together!"

"Right," agreed Martin. "The whole gang depends on one another other for food, shelter, and protection. Everybody has a job to do."

"And if that job isn't carried out properly…" Aviva said as she and the others turned to look at Chris, "…things go very, very wrong."

Chris sighed, cheeks flushing as he dropped his eyes to stare at the dirt at his feet. "I know, I know. I promise nothing like that will ever happen again."

Martin smiled and gave him a slap on the back. "Good. And I already told you it's ok. I'm still here and the so are the meerkats." He paused, seeming to ponder something for a second or two. "One question…"

"Yeah?"

"Was that bug any good? I'm starving."

**The End**


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